A Hand to Hold - Kathy's Story
by The Unwritten Fellowship
Summary: When your face is full of lines, when every tear has left its mark, when the smooth softness of youth is replaced by the delicate softness of age, I will still want to hold your hand. Kathy Peters was a normal girl, until one day she is whisked to Spira. She soon discovers though, that she wasn't just randomly chosen...This is Kathy's story.
1. Of Unexpected Twists

**Author's Note:** Hey there! First time for me to dip into the Final Fantasy Fandom, but I've finally done it, so WOO! Now, this could be considered a companion fic to Lady Sly's fic that will be going up on the account soon, but you don't have to read it if you don't want to. I'll be using some artistic licence for some parts of this fic, and if you see anything that doesn't seem consistent with the fandom, let me know, okay? I'll see you all in chapter 2! Much love, Princess Kanako x

**Title:** A Hand to Hold - Kathy's Story

**Author:** Princess Kanako

**Pairing(s): **Yuna/Tidus, Auron/OC

**Date Submitted:** 29/11/14

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy X or any of its affiliates; they belong to Hironobu Sakaguchi.

**Claimer:** I do own my own characters, the plot, and my own ideas. Chiasa and Kathy belong to Princess Kanako.

**Genre:** Adventure, Fantasy, Angst, Romance

**Summary:** _When your face is full of lines, when every tear has left its mark, when the smooth softness of youth is replaced by the delicate softness of age, I will still want to hold your hand._ Kathy Peters was a normal girl, until one day she is whisked to Spira. She soon discovers though, that she wasn't just randomly chosen...This is Kathy's story.

**Warning: **Eh, mention of violence? Theft? I dunno. Oh, and cloaked people finding people. That's usually shady.

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><p><em>In which a day goes from meh, to bad, to life sucks, to ah toss it.<em>

* * *

><p>She could still remember when it happened. She was seven years old, but she knew that when her mum and dad started crying after the strange man in the yellow coat had knocked on the door. She remembered asking where her sister was, and getting no reply.<p>

She remembered the look in Colin's eyes.

So much time had passed since then. She was going to college now, Colin was engaged; life had gone on. Time doesn't stop when another life ends. It marches on.

"_Now arriving in Russell Square,_" the speakers announced. "_Please mind the gap_."

Shifting her rucksack slightly on her shoulders, Kathy Peters stepped smartly off the tube and made her way up to Russell Square, her oyster card in her hand to swipe her through the barriers. As she stood in front of the entrance to the station she just left, someone bashed - not bumped, a proper _bash_ - into her, sending her flying onto her rear. Her card flew out of her hand, landing several feet away where a person wearing a hoodie picked it up, looked _right at her_ and simply _walked away with it._

The bloody _nerve_! Pushing herself to her feet, she started jogging after the person.

"**OI!**" she shouted. "Give that back!"

As per usual, the London crowd didn't even bother looking up at the noise, while Kathy's thief simply sped up. Kathy did the same, and was soon pounding after her mysterious thief, her rucksack hitting her back painfully as she ran. She spared half a thought to her laptop before turning a corner and meeting a tall brick wall.

"Weird," she huffed, trying to slow her breathing down. She'd been sure that whoever it was had come down here. The bugger had probably given her the slip. Or else she needed new glasses. She adjusted hers before turning to walk back down the little ally. She never made it back to the main street.

* * *

><p>"Are you the Lady Yuna?" a hooded figure asked. Yuna paused and turned on the sands of the little hidden cove, her mismatched eyes glowing in the moonlight.<p>

"I am. Can I help you?" she replied, a smile settling on her lips.

"Yes. Would you be able to take care of this girl?" the figure asked, gesturing with a nod to a limp, unconscious girl in his or her arms.

"Oh my goodness!" Yuna exclaimed, darting forward. "Is she all right?"

"I think she's fine, there are no wounds," the person assured, "I would like to leave her here though; I am needed elsewhere."

"Is she related to you?" Yuna inquired, starting to walk back to the village.

"Not in the slightest," the person said with a shrug. "I just found her like this."

"Oh dear. I'm sure we will be able to care for her until she can return home."

"I'd be much obliged."

"It's just in here," Yuna explained, entering her little home. "Lulu! We have visitors!"

The beautiful Black Mage came out from her room, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"Friends of yours, Yuna?" she inquired in a cool voice. The summoner-to-be shook her head.

"No, but the girl needs to be cared for," she explained. Lulu glanced at the cloaked person who put the girl onto the soft sofa.

"And you are...?" Lulu asked.

"Chiasa," the person - no, woman -answered, drawing the hood of her cloak down to reveal luminous green eyes and waves of chestnut hair. "And I cannot linger - I am expected in Bevelle."

"It's quite rude to leave someone on our hands like this," Lulu commented, ignoring Yuna's gasp at her words. "How do we know that she isn't an assassin?"

"That, I cannot vouch for, but judge for yourselves. I, personally, do not see her as a threat," Chiasa said serenely.

"We don't either," Yuna said assuringly. Lulu snorted. "You can trust us, we'll make sure she makes it home safely."

"I thank you," Chiasa brought her hands together and bowed. "I found this with her too," she added, holding up a large black bag. "Her belongings, I assume."

"We'll give them to her when she wakes," Yuna assured. "You have my word she'll be taken care of."

"Thank you, Lady Yuna," Chiasa smiled, pulling up the hood of her cloak again. "Perhaps we'll meet again."

"Goodbye." Yuna turned to see an irritated Lulu tapping her finger against her arm and she stifled a groan. Another lecture. Oh dear.

* * *

><p>Her head hurt.<p>

Kathy groaned before opening her eyes, blinking twin pools of cerulean confusion before realising that her glasses were off.

"I don't know how I keep forgetting that," she muttered to herself, slowly sitting up and patting along the covers for her glasses, where she always dropped them. Her brow furrowed as her hands found nothing but more blanket.

_Must be on the floor again,_ she mused, pushing the blankets off of her and swinging her legs over the side. The second her feet touched the floor, Kathy knew something was off.

"When in the hell did I get a carpet?" she muttered, slowly kneeling down and patting along the carpet all around the bed.

"Are you all right?"

Kathy yelped in surprise, turning in the direction of the voice. A blurry purplish-and-white-someone (probably a girl) was standing by what she assumed was the door.

"Can I help you?" the girl asked again, "Are you missing something? Let me help you up."

"Um, yeah, I can't find my glasses," Kathy said sheepishly, her hands automatically going to smooth her hair. It was only a bob, but it always liked to stick out and piss her off. "Thanks, by the way."

"It's fine. Here are your glasses," the girl replied, pressing said item into Kathy's hand. "They were on the bedside table."

"The one place I never look," Kathy groaned, slipping them on. "Thanks."

She turned to smile at her companion. It _was_ a girl around her own age, with shoulder-length brown hair and what looked like a blue-beaded hair braid behind her right ear, hidden by a lock of her hair, and her eyes were different colours; the left one was blue, the right was green. She was wearing the most gorgeous, if unusual clothes, Kathy'd ever seen.

She had a simple purple pleated, flower-patterned skirt, black boots, a white wrap-around that swept around her neck and over her chest; and a yellow patterned obi with a _chōchō musubi _knot and a decorative _obidome_ to clinch the cords. Two separate, kimono-esque sleeves which were white, then slowly faced to a deep pink completed the outfit.

"I'm Yuna," she smiled, doing something weird with her arms and bowing. Kathy, bemused, stared at her.

"I'm Katherine, but I prefer Kathy," she answered, holding out her hand. "Nice to meet you."

Yuna stared at her hand like it would bite her.

"Haven't you ever had a handshake before?" Kathy asked in confusion. Yuna shook her head slowly. "Give me your hand. The right one."

Kathy slowly grasped Yuna's hand and shook it gently before letting go.

"That's...unusual," Yuna managed, staring at her own hand now. "Is that how you greet people in your village?"

"Most people do it," Kathy shrugged, pausing. "Speaking of. Where exactly am I?"

"You're in Besaid," Yuna said, sitting on the bed with a smile. "We can send you home as soon as you'd like!"

"Where exactly _is_ Besaid?" Kathy asked, feeling a flutter of panic beginning to take root in her gut.

"Spira, of course!" Yuna answered in surprise.

"And where is Spira?"

"Spira is the world."

Then-

"Are you okay? You've gone very white."

"B-B-But...where's London?"

A blank look.

"England?"

Another look.

"Yuna, please don't tell me you haven't heard of them."

The look of confused sympathy was enough. Kathy's head swam as she tried to piece it all together and her chest was getting tighter and tighter and tighter and tighter and she could hear Yuna calling for someone, but she _couldn'tbreathecouldn'tbreathecouldn'tbreathecouldn'tbreathecouldn'tbreathecouldn'tbreathecouldn'tbreathe_...

* * *

><p>"Are you all right now?" Yuna's friend Lulu asked coolly, her eyes narrowed as Kathy took another puff of her inhaler.<p>

"Better," she croaked, "Sorry."

"What happened?" Yuna asked curiously.

"I panicked, which triggered an asthma attack," she replied, slipping her inhaler into her pocket and groaning at the blank looks she received. "Basically, my lungs stopped working and my brain panicked at the lack of air which made me panic more. The inhaler helps calm me down, because my brain has associated the inhaler with air. It's basically fooling my brain."

"Do a lot of people suffer from this?" Lulu asked.

"A fair few, but I've a minor case. Some people have it much, much worse than I do. I only use _this_ thing-" she held up her inhaler, "in emergencies."

"And what, exactly, made it an emergency?" Lulu asked in a sharp voice. Kathy sighed, looking at her from behind a curtain of black hair.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she muttered. "I barely do myself."

"Try me." Lulu's voice was dry. Mentally, Kathy snorted. _Let's see how long that lasts. _Taking a deep breath, she took the plunge.

"I'm not from Spira. I'm from a place called London, England, on a planet called Earth."

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued..<strong>


	2. Of New Faces

**Author's Note:** Hey there! Been a small wait for this, and I apologise; I've been up to my eyes in work and college, so getting this out has been a little tricky. I'm entering the exam section of the semester this week, so it'll be study study study until the 18th when I'm done. I'll try to take a break and do something with my upcoming chapters, but I've got other fics to tend to, so I can't make any promises. Ah, and I have NO idea how people in Besaid bathe - I'm just using a pet theory of mine. I'll see you in the next chapter! Much love, Princess Kanako x

**Title:** A Hand to Hold - Kathy's Story

**Authors:** Princess Kanako

**Pairing(s): **Yuna/Tidus, Auron/OC

**Date Submitted:** 9/12/14

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy X or any of its affiliates; they belong to Hironobu Sakaguchi.

**Claimer:** I do own my own characters, the plot, and my own ideas. Chiasa and Kathy belong to Princess Kanako.

**Genre:** Adventure, Fantasy, Angst, Romance

**Summary:** _When your face is full of lines, when every tear has left its mark, when the smooth softness of youth is replaced by the delicate softness of age, I will still want to hold your hand._ Kathy Peters was a normal girl, until one day she is whisked to Spira. She soon discovers though, that she wasn't just randomly chosen...This is Kathy's story.

**Warning: **Eh, can't really think of anything...warning of stagnant chapter? Sounds about right.

* * *

><p><em>In which baths are taken and lightning strikes twice.<em>

* * *

><p>"I really landed myself in it this time," Kathy muttered, playing with her fringe. The man beside her (Wakka, he was called) nodded.<p>

"You did. But Lulu's got a short fuse, ya?" he said consolingly. "She was probably thinkin' you were makin' fun of her."

"As if," she snorted, finally letting her fringe lie over her left eye, like it always did. "I barely know the woman, like I'd make fun of her! I usually wait until there's an actual relationship for that! Besides, she freaks me out."

"She freaks out a lotta people, ya?" Wakka answered. "She's not all bad. She's just worried about Yuna."

"She's got a funny way of showing it."

"We all have our own way of doin' things, ya?"

"Yeah, I suppose. She didn't have to attack me last night though." Kathy rubbed her still sore wrist. "I was only opening my bag, for Christ's sake. Thanks for catching me, by the way."

"No problem. She's just being protective, ya? Yuna's like a little sister to her."

"Okay, that I can kind of understand."

"You got a sister?"

"Two of them. Both younger than me. And a big brother," Kathy smiled. "You kind of remind me of him. Except he's far more serious."

"Hey! I can be serious too, ya?" Wakka protested loudly over Kathy's giggles.

"As if! I'd have to see it to believe it!"

"Anyway, I'm going to the beach with my team. Wanna come along?" Wakka asked, standing and stretching. Kathy shook her head.

"No, I'm fine. I'll stay here and talk to Yuna when she's up. Next time, I promise," she said apologetically. The red-head grinned and ruffled her hair, ignoring her muffled protest.

"I'm gonna hold you to that, ya?" Wakka stuck his tongue out at her. "And Yuna's gone to the trial. She's been there since last night."

"Okay, okay, I get it!" Kathy snapped, slapping his hands away. "Personal space, Wakka!" A thought struck her. "Trial? When did she go?"

"Just after you fell asleep," he shrugged. "Lulu's with her. She'll be fine."

"If you say so." Kathy paused. "What exactly is the trial? Did she do something wrong?"

"No, nothin' like that," he assured her. "The trial's a test for apprentice summoners. There's a room in the temple called the Cloister of Trials. Beyond is where the apprentice summoner prays. If the prayer is heard, the apprentice becomes a fully-fledged summoner, ya?"

"And what if the prayer isn't heard?" Kathy asked. Wakka shrugged.

"Then the apprentice wasn't worthy. I dunno the specifics."

Kathy eyed him.

"Wakka, do you actually believe that I'm not from Spira?" she asked curiously. "Or do you think I'm a lunatic?"

The man shrugged.

"Yuna believes you," he said serenely. "And Yuna's never wrong about a person. Besides, even if you _were_ crazy, you're a pretty cool crazy lady."

"I resent that," she grinned, poking him. "But thanks."

"No problem," the blitzball player grinned back. "We'll stick together til we get you home, ya?"

"Yeah," she replied.

"Anyway, I need to get to my team! They're waitin' for me, so I'll see you later!"

Kathy waved as Wakka left the tent, then tried to figure out what to do with herself. Her nose wrinkled.

_A bath, I think!_

She explored the tent until she came across another 'room' of sorts, with a big wooden tub sitting in the middle of it. Sitting right beside it were two large-ish buckets filled to the brim with cool water. Making a face but knowing she really didn't have much of a choice, Kathy stripped quickly and sluiced herself down, shivering all the while. Since she couldn't see any towels, she dried herself off with her t-shirt and changed into some clean clothes. Her hair was short enough that it would dry within the hour; it was a hot enough day. Looking sheepishly back at the mess she'd inadvertently made, she rolled up her figurative sleeves and straightened up the room as best she could. The rugs around the tub were a little damp - okay, they were drenched - so she rolled them up and lay them outside to dry in the blistering heat. The buckets were empty, and if Wakka was training like he said he was, he'd come back covered in dirt and sweat and Lord knows what else. Picking up the two buckets, she made her way out to the plaza and was just about to ask someone where she could fill them up when Wakka appeared around the corner, a blonde boy right on his heels.

"-got any food there?" the boy was saying, rubbing a gloved hand across his stomach. Wakka clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll get you something over there later. Take a look around. Let's see..." Wakka's eyes scanned the small allotment of tents, then pointed at one large blue tent, sitting separately from the others. "The Crusader's Lodge is over yonder. Luzzu and Gatta are usually there."

"Hey Wakka!" Kathy called, waving slightly. "Who's your friend?"

"Hey Kathy," he responded with a wave of his own, "Come on over." She complied, eyeing the new boy with interest. "This is Tidus. He got too close to Sin's toxin, but he's mostly all right."

"Um, okay," she replied with a hesitant look. "Hi. I'm Kathy. Nice to meet you."

"Uh, you too," Tidus replied, nodding at her.

"Oh, right," Wakka clicked his fingers. "You two - over here!"

"Huh? What's up?" Tidus asked as himself and Kathy followed Wakka behind a tent.

"You do remember the prayer, right?" he asked, looking at the blonde boy.

"I don't remember, no," Tidus replied sheepishly, shaking his head.

"Man, that's like the basics of the basics," Wakka tutted. "Alright, I'll show you." He stretched his arms out at forty-five degree angles, then held his right forearm over the left forearm, fingers spread out, his hands curved in the shape of a circle, and bowed. "Go ahead, you try," he encouraged. "You too, Kathy."

Putting down her buckets, Kathy tried to mimic Wakka's actions, but it really wasn't a good first try; she mixed up her right and her left and completely forgot to bow. Tidus's on the other hand, was smooth and clean, with only a small amount of hesitancy. He glanced up from his bow.

"Hey, not bad," Wakka said, impressed as Tidus straightened. "Okay, now go present yourself to the temple summoner. Kathy, I'll help you with those buckets, ya?"

As they left Tidus, Kathy asked Wakka quietly, "Where did he come from?"

"He doesn't remember, poor kid," the red-head replied quietly. "He got too close to Sin's Toxin. It's a miracle it's only his memory that's affected, ya?"

"His memory? He has amnesia? Ouch," Kathy winced. "But what's Sin's Toxin?"

Wakka stopped, then smacked himself lightly on the forehead.

"Right, you're not from here," he mumbled, continuing. "I keep forgetting. Sin is a huge creature that came into being as punishment for out ancestors relying on machina - machines. If we follow the teachings of Yevon and atone, Sin will vanish. The toxin part should be easy enough to get."

"Yeah. But is the solution really that simple?" Kathy wondered. "How long has Sin been around, Wakka?"

"Over a thousand years," Wakka shrugged, stopping by a wide-ish river and taking one of the buckets from her.

"Surely you've atoned for your sins," Kathy reasoned as she stooped to fill her bucket. "And anyway, why should future generations suffer for what a handful of people did over a thousand years ago? It's not really fair."

"I hear that," Wakka grumbled as they started to make their way back to the village, "But we gotta keep faith, ya?"

"I suppose." She chewed her lip. "Why don't you tell me about Yevon?"

Wakka's beaming smile and his enthusiastic chattering kept Kathy's mind from wandering on the way back to the village and most of the afternoon.

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><p><strong>To be continued..<strong>


End file.
